Cops: Man tried to assault woman he followed on Blue Line

Police have released surveillance photos of a suspect who followed a woman exiting a Blue Line stop at UIC.

Police have released surveillance photos of a suspect who followed a woman exiting a Blue Line stop at UIC.

Staff report

Police are warning people on the Near West Side about a man who tried to sexually assault a woman after following her on a Blue Line “L” train from downtown early Tuesday.

The woman, 19, rode the train from the Clark and Lake Blue Line stop and left the train near 900 West Van Buren Street, according to an alert issued this morning by Area Central detectives. Police this morning released surveillance photos of the man believed to be the attacker.

The man followed the woman from the Lake Street stop and then when she got off train, and tried to sexually assault her in the 900 block of Van Buren about 12:18 a.m. Tuesday, according to the alert.

The woman “was able to fend off the attacker” and called police immediately, according to the alert.

The attacker is described as a black man or boy, in his late teens to early 20s, standing about 5-foot-5 or 5-foot-6, weighing 160 to 170 pounds and with black hair, according to the alert. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a white and red logo as well as dark pants and shoes, and carrying a dark-colored backpack.

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call detectives at 312-747-8380.